Rabaul, New Britain, 4 August 1942. Japanese naval flight personnel from the Tainan Air Group, ...

Rabaul, New Britain, 4 August 1942. Japanese naval flight personnel from the Tainan Air Group, 25th Air Flotilla, pose for a photograph three months before their reorganisation into Air Group 251. Most, if not all the personnel depicted were involved in air attacks on New Guinea, including Port Moresby and Buna during 1942. This photograph was taken from 22 year old Flight Petty Officer Third Class (PO3c) Enji Kakimoto, a Tainan Air Group pilot with five recorded victims, who was captured on 31 August 1942 after being shot down in his Zero four days previously at Rabi, Milne Bay during a strafing attack in support of the Japanese landing by naval and marine forces. Kakimoto was ultimately handed over to Australian troops by locals. Believing himself in friendly hands, he had pencilled a brief report of his operation on the back of the photo for his superior's attention, but had torn it up upon capture. Flight Lieutenant Jeff Wilkinson of 75 Squadron remembers 'He sat for most of the time with his head in his hands in disgrace an and he looked a very dejected person'. Repairs made to the photo by staff of the Directorate of Intelligence are still apparent. Kakimoto was an instrumental motivator of the break out from Cowra POW Camp in August 1944 and died by his own hand.
Identified personnel are:
Rear row, standing, left to right: unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Aviation Seaman First Class (Sea 1c) Keisaku Yoshimura.; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Flight Petty Officer Second Class (PO2c) Ichirobei Yamazaki; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified.
Third row, standing, l to r: unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Flight Petty Officer First Class (PO1c) Mototsuna Yoshida; PO1c Saburo Sakai; PO1c Hiroyoshi Nishizawa; unidentified; PO1c Yoshio Oki; unidentified; unidentified; PO1c Toshio Ota; Flight Petty Officer Third Class (PO3c) Masuaki Endo.
Second row, sitting, l to r: Aviation Warrant Officer (WO) Sahei Yamashita; PO1c Tora-ichi Takatsuka; unidentified; Lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG) Jun-ichi Sasai (division officer); Lieutenant (LT) Shiro Kawai (division officer); Commander Yasuna Kozono (executive officer and air officer); Captain Masahisa Saito (commanding officer); Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Nakajima (group leader); Lt Kiku-ichi Inano (division officer); Lt Joji Yamashita (division officer); unidentified; LTJG Takeyoshi Ono; unidentified.
Front row, l to r: unidentified; PO3c Take-ichi Kuniwake; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; PO3c Uto Kazushi; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified.